Its a perennial complaint from Texas Gov. Rick Perry: The federal government places far too many restrictions on how states can run Medicaid, the entitlement program that provides health care to low-income Americans. We know for a fact that, given that freedom, the states can do a better job of delivering health care, Perry said in a Republican debate last month. Hes endorsed turning the entitlement program into a block grant and flirted with having Texas drop out of it altogether.

But back in Texas, Perry is actually pursuing a highly technocratic and pragmatic attempt at Medicaid reform that doesnt much resemble the policy hes floated in his presidential run. He is currently negotiating a waiver with the Obama administration that would net the state increased Medicaid funding if providers could hit certain performance metrics agreed to by the federal government. Its an approach that has pleased just about everyone involved, from Medicaid advocates to major hospitals.

As an advocate, if this is done reasonably well, it could be requiring more from hospitals for what theyre doing, says Anne Dunkelberg of the Center for Public Policy Priorities. It wouldnt just be a cash cow. Hospitals would have to deliver care to the uninsured and have to participate in some payment and delivery reforms.

[SNIP]

......But from hospitals to Medicaid advocates, theres a surprisingly high level of agreement on what the waiver would do: bring in more Medicaid dollars to Texas. As for Perry, it shows a political side rarely seen in his presidential debate performances: pragmatic and technocratic, a leader who can craft a deal that brings together just about every disparate health-care interest in the Lone Star State.

Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Board, told me that if you look at the number of jobs created since the recession technically ended in June 2009, Texas has accounted for 48 percent of net new jobs created in the U.S.

Fisher also disparages claims that the jobs are all low-paying jobs at McDonalds or Walmart, paying the minimum wage, or that they were primarily caused by the oil and natural gas boom. According to Tom Pauken of the Texas Work Force Commission, the annual median wage in Texas in 2010 for all occupations was $31,500 a year, only 7 percent below the national average. That difference is easily explained by the fact that Texas has a younger workforce than most states and a higher percentage of workers in lower-pay agriculture jobs near the border with Mexico. [ CW: Cost of living in Texas is lower than many other states; Texas has no state income tax; Texas is a right to work state.]

As for where the job growth has been, three sectors of the economy have grown faster than the energy sector, which alone added 40,500 net new jobs in 2010. Last year, Texas added 57,900 new jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities; a total of 53,400 jobs in professional and business services; and 44,900 net new jobs in the hospitality industry.

For each of the past seven years, CEOs polled by Chief Executive magazine have rated Texas first in the nation for economic development climate and job growth. What is the secret of Texass success? Rick Perry isnt shy about his answer. Its all about four points, he told me. First, dont spend all the money. Keep the taxes low and under control. Have regulations that are fair and predictable so business owners know what to expect from one quarter to the next. And reform the legal system so that frivolous lawsuits dont paralyze employers who are trying to create real wealth.

If there is on issue which Perry has made a personal crusade, it is lawsuit reform. Working with the legislature, he has helped pass curbs on frivolous lawsuits, implemented a first-in-the-nation system under which loser pays all court costs in many lawsuits, and reformed medical malpractice law.

Dick Weekley, the co-founder of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, says Perry showed genuine political courage in resisting calls for watered-down reforms that wouldnt have addressed the core problem. He recalls that in 2002 Perry vetoed a bill strongly supported by doctors that would have required them to prompt payment from health maintenance organizations. In the eyes of the tort reform advocates, the bill was a Trojan Horse compromise negotiated between doctors and trial lawyers. There was a huge response from physicians [against the veto], Kim Ross, the former top lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association, said. TMA went so far as to endorse Tony Sanchez, Perrys millionaire Democratic opponent in the 2002 election. Perry sent a signal that he wanted real reform and would stand his ground, Weekley told me. Soon the medical lobbyists playing footsie with the trial lawyers were gone and the obstacles to real reform started falling. ..

*********************************************

AND now the TMA is endorsing Gov. Rick Perry. They understand now what he was doing would HELP them.

...."The Texas Medical Associations political action committee recently endorsed him for president, and its members are helping him raise money and make connections with medical groups in other states.".... source

"With the signature of Gov. Rick Perry today, Texas has joined three other states stating their intention to enter into a health care compact.

The compact, which would challenge the authority of the federal government to dictate the terms of the federally and state funded Medicaid program, was part of a wide-ranging health care reform bill, Senate Bill 7, passed by the Texas Legislature in its recently concluded special session.

Georgia, Oklahoma and Missouri have already signed onto the compacts movement, with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signing a bill into law on Thursday.

The law establishes Texas, along with the other three states, as pioneers in an uncharted use of Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution which allows states to enter into agreements that, with the approval of Congress, cannot be abridged by the federal government. There are more than 200 state compacts currently in effect, nearly all of them related to commerce. ..

SALT LAKE CITY  Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a top supporter and adviser of Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney, strenuously backed the core piece of President Barack Obamas health-care law and urged the states to move forward together in adopting health insurance exchanges.

Speaking to a bipartisan group of governors at the National Governors Association, the former Republican governor who served as secretary of health and human services in the Bush administration, called the exchanges where individuals and small businesses can purchase health plans a very practical solution to a problem that needs to be solved. He warned governors who are reluctant to move forward with their state-level exchanges that their intransigence will only empower federal regulators.

Rick Perry's Intriguing Idea for Bi-National Health Insurance Contrary to Sen. Santorums impression, the idea here was to explore the possibility of allowing private insurers to cover health services provided in either Texas or Mexico. It was an attempt at studying the deregulation of the provision of health insurance by private entities.

After being Gov for 11 years, I am surprised that he is bringing this up now.....no I am not. He sure is brining up a lot of good ideas now that he is running for President. Had he been bringing these things up while governor and getting them implemented, he might have a fighting chance at being the nominee. Perhaps if he takes these Ideas and works on them the next four years, he can come back for 2016 and have a better chance. He will only be 64 going on 65. He has plenty of time to run again. Too bad he didn’t think about running around 2009 and implementing some of these ideas even then would have helped.

All I know is this: I’ve been without healthcare insurance since 2009. I pay a flat rate to my doctor for visits and out of pocket for meds. In that time, I’ve spent less than I would have with premiums and co-pays.

You know, you never have anything good to say about Gov. Perry and work so hard to leave a bad impression. He has done a lot for Texas— he’s battling the Feds on many issues— the state economy is booming despite Obama — have you bothered to take note? (and I have linked and quoted and given information to you countless times to the point I’m insulted for doing it).

Who is your candidate that you are trying so hard to get elected by repeatedly slamming Gov. Rick Perry, a strong fiscal and social conservative?

He is currently negotiating a waiver with the Obama administration that would net the state increased Medicaid funding if providers could hit certain performance metrics agreed to by the federal government.

That is not exactly getting the FedMob out of it. That is still playing by their rules.

18
posted on 11/19/2011 12:59:45 PM PST
by TigersEye
(Life is about choices. Your choices. Make good ones.)

lol. I was giving the guy advice. Well it is up to him. I am for Cain, Bachmann or Santorum. Any of these three are incredibly more conservative than moderately conservative Perry, Romney, or Newt. This is our best opportunity to really get a conservative into the White House. Cain is 100 percent conservative, Bachmann is 100 percent conservative and Santorum is 100 percent conservative. Romney is about 30 percent conservative. Newt is about 40 percent conservative and Perry is about 45 percent conservative. Perry supports illegal aliens which is why I will NEVER support him even if he is the nominee. I can’t. I cannot put my opportunity to go to Heaven in place of politics. It just won’t happen. Perry supports people who break the law. That is unacceptable.

He is a conservative. At least 55 percent more conservative than the dumb Perry. Cain is still beating Perry by double digits. Has Perry made it past 4 percent yet? Perry out of all the candidates is definitely the biggest loser and quite possibly the worst candidate to run in the history of Republican campaigns.

Note: To our patients: Due to staffing issues, this Planned Parenthood location is temporarily closed. Our nearest location to serve you is in xxxxxxx. For patients able to travel there, xxxxx offers appointments and current patients may call to see if they are eligible to pick up supplies . We do not anticipate open days here in October but will update this phone message as soon as we schedule open dates for November.

This is a note on the Tyler Planned Parenthood door. This due to Perry and the Legislature defunding it. This is called walking the walk. Cain can agree abortion should not be part of the political discussion. He can call abortion a social decision but Gov. Perry puts his money where his mouth is. This is just another reason why he should be President.

By the way this is the 13th Texas planned parenthood to do this.

23
posted on 11/19/2011 1:19:15 PM PST
by normy
(Don't take it personally, just take it seriously.)

It wouldn't matter the same people would trot out the same lines of attack "Ricardo" and "Capt. Gardasil" lines.

Just look at this case, it's a waiver they've been negotiating with the Obama regime for some time. He can't just wave a magic wand and get the feds to do his bidding from TX.

If Perry had been thinking about running in 2012 before a few months ago, he'd have been in better shape and not made the debate mistakes he's made making him the leading non-Romney. It's unfortunate we have so many unprepared candidates trying to fill that spot and it seems we're down to Newt.

25
posted on 11/19/2011 1:27:28 PM PST
by newzjunkey
(Republicans will find a way to reelect Obama and Speaker Pelosi.)

And I will add that the American people will not accept a George Bush clone - a clone who makes GWB look like a winner of an Oxford Union debate against Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis. It depresses me that such an inarticulate cluck could ever attain the White House.

Perry supports illegal aliens which is why I will NEVER support him even if he is the nominee.

After 3 months of explanations about the TX tuition program it's impossible to believe that you don't understand it, or why it was done. The only alternative explanation to you being ignorant by choice is you think lying helps who ever it is you support. I'm guessing your a Cain supporter. We haven't seen this type of crap from Newt, Bachmann, or Santorum supporters.

While its true that Cain is running ahead of Perry, its nothing to brag about especially when you dig a little deeper. Cain may try his best to spin an issue and talk out both sides of his mouth to cover his public gaffes, but he remains what he's always been. A political neophyte --- aka. an empty suit. And lately that has been seriously damaging his campaign. In the end, Cain will lose.

>>>>>... dumb Perry.

In the last few weeks its obvious Cain is in over his head. His public statements have shown Cain is a policy dumbell of the first order.

34
posted on 11/19/2011 2:23:42 PM PST
by Reagan Man
("In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.")

But one major surgery or serious accident and you’ll find yourself headed for Chapter 11... as we did. It wiped us out completely.

I wish it were possible to buy insurance for major medical only. I’d rather pay in cash for routine care. But if you are self-employed, have any kind of pre-existing condition and/or are over forty, you can forget it. No insurer will touch you.

See you at the county emergency ward. Hope your Spanish hasn’t gotten rusty.

And you have probably received better care. Most doctors will negotiate a fee for office visits - within reason - if paid in cash or by check. Saves them and their staff a whole lot of time and, therefore, money if they don’t have to deal with the insurance hassle.

43
posted on 11/19/2011 4:05:38 PM PST
by Grams A
(The Sun will rise in the East in the morning and God is still on his throne.)

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